Drunk Russell Bates assaulted a police officer during his work Christmas party – after trying vodka for the first time.

The 34-year-old was out with friends in Newcastle on December 16 when police were called to a fight in Merrial Street.

When an officer tried to intervene, he swore repeatedly and pushed his little finger so far backwards that it fractured. Bates, of Charles Street, Biddulph , told police he ‘couldn’t remember anything’ when he was eventually arrested, but he later pleaded guilty to assaulting a police officer.